So far, so good.



Tuesday 12/25 – Typical Christmas. Presents, family, craziness and too much food. We ate tamales, beans and rice at my cousin’s house. I couldn’t even keep track of whose kid was whose. They either multiply too quickly, or I’m just not paying attention.

Wednesday 12/26 – I mostly prepared, packed and worried about our road trip to southern California on Thursday. So Leon and I finished half a bottle of wine to take the edge off. I went drunk shopping at the co-op and found myself paying my first member dues. I can’t believe after five years I actually joined. We went to Matt & Heather’s to drop off our keys for cat sitting. They got engaged and are therefore adults now.

Thursday 12/27 – Drive, drive, drive, from 7:00 am to 2:30 pm. Leon’s dad bought us a digital camera. He kept telling people that the camera was for me and that Leon could use it because my name was on the tag first. I took it that he thought that was pretty funny. We took some pictures, which I will link to very soon. I met some of Leon’s New York family, who said cute things like, “somewheres”.

Friday 12/28 – Universal Studios. As if a trip to southern California is not complete without my annual celebrity sighting, Jay Leno, on cue walked in through the front gates before me. He’s not as tall as you would think, and his head makes up about half of his actual height. We did the studio tour, and some of the rides they’ve added. I screamed at jaws. Okay, I was a little jumpy. I ran around making peace signs for photos. Beetlejuice almost licked me. Because Universal Studios serves beer and wine, it won my personal best theme park award over Disneyland who won’t even sell an Italian soda. We ate dinner at Macaroni Grill. Leon’s grandmother gave the waitress a hard time, which made me nervous, a lady that looked like Sarah Kelsey sang to us in a key that she couldn’t sing very well in and Leon’s dad’s girlfriend, Rose cut a big fart, but I didn’t hear it.

Saturday 12/29 – Rose, who was so hell bent on being a good hostess, apologized for not keeping herbal tea in the house when we asked for directions to the nearest health food store. We just wanted breakfast and snacks, not an arsenal of organic tea. After getting green tamales and fruit salad we had some grapefruit at Rose’s, too. We got a call on our cell phone that we got the apartment, which made my day. Leon’s dad had an elaborate beach tour planned out for us despite the drizzle and rain. We drove to Laguna Beach to see the sea lions bob in and out of the water. Then we drove out to Balboa Island and rode a tiny ferry to the peninsula, and then off to Newport Beach for a long walk down the smoothest sandy beach I’d ever seen. We stopped for beers, chili and salad at a little beach dive where you could buy chili by the gallon, then walked forever back to the car, in the rain. Rose squealed for joy each time she saw a glimpse of the sun. Then we drove out to Victoria Beach, which was quite a hike, but definitely my favorite. We saw tiny sharks in tide pools, and giant waves crashing on rocks. We went back to Rose’s and showed the day’s photos on the television. Three cheers for digital cameras. After that we went to Ikea in Tustin and bought some long boxes of furniture, which made the rest of our trip in the car uncomfortable. We met Leon’s cousin and her husband at a campy Mexican Denny’s for dinner then followed them to their new house in Yorba Linda. Holy crap, if this wasn’t the biggest house I’d ever seen for two people, I don’t know what is. We lounged in the upstairs living room, if that says anything about how crazy the house was.

Sunday 12/30 – Time to leave. We woke up early and said goodbye to everyone, including grandma. We ate at Canter’s for breakfast knishes and got real black & white cookies and hamentachen for the road. Got a nice menorah down the road marked down from $69 to $25. Ach, what menches. Drive, drive, drive. We ate lunch at Pea Soup Andersen’s. All you can eat, but I only had one bowl. I still like Leon’s split pea soup better. Drive, drive, drive. Home, movie, sleep.

Monday 12/31 - Power Point vacation photos, packing boxes, seeing the apartment one more time and still liking it, and fighting in Target. We had New Year’s Eve in Matt & Heather’s soon to be old house. Pizza, champagne and drunk bingo. If you called a false bingo, you had to take a punishment shot of Jim Beam. The ball dropped, we drank, kissed and toasted. Girls had a girl talk. Shhhhhh.

Tuesday 1/01 - I woke up with a champagne headache. We tried to nurse it with Cornerstone breakfast, which helped somewhat. I gobbled aspirin like a maniac, hoping for the best. We decided to go see Amelie at Tower. Oh, fantastic! What a movie, I loved it. How can I get a haircut like hers?
We stopped over at the adult’s new crib and shot some photos, talked some shit. When we grow up, are we going through the motions? Or are we doing the things that please us?

New Year Resolutions:
1. Stop chewing fingers when nervous.
2. Get furniture.
3. Save money.
4. Lose weight.
5. Eat less junk.
6. Consume less caffeine.
7. Travel.
8. Give more love.
9. Have a potluck dinner at our new apartment.

I fell asleep watching the Twilight Zone marathon.
And here I am.
Later.